Well, Iraq may not have WMDs, but it appears al Qaeda might:

Intelligence indicating that al Qaeda terrorists are seeking to release a chemical or biological agent aboard an airliner, or transport a radiological device in cargo, prompted the cancellation of six international flights scheduled for today and tomorrow, senior administration officials familiar with the reports said yesterday.

The intelligence on a weapon of mass destruction remains vague, and officials remain concerned about hijackings and other methods. The use of such weapons would be a new tactic.

All the canceled flights are overseas flights arriving in the United States, as were the flights by foreign carriers canceled around Christmas. But yesterday, for the first time, a flight by a U.S.-based carrier was canceled. Continental Airlines Flight 17, scheduled to fly today from Glasgow, Scotland, to Los Angeles with a stop in Newark, was canceled because the carrier was “unable to obtain the necessary security clearances from the Department of Homeland Security and their international counterparts,” a Continental spokesman said.

That report comes via WaPo.

The number of flights cancelled today is now seven, and the terror threats have been attributed to al-Qaida:

British Airways and Air France on Saturday announced the cancellation of seven flights to and from the United States because of security concerns. The United States has indications of al-Qaida’s continued interest in targeting international flights to America, a government official said.

[Update to this story]

From FOXNews:

British Airways has canceled three flights from Heathrow Airport to Washington, D.C. and Miami because of security concerns, the airline said Saturday.

BA flight 223 to Washington’s Dulles airport will not fly on Sunday or Monday, but is to depart on schedule at 3:05 p.m. Saturday, said an airline spokeswoman.

Flight 207 to Miami will not fly on Sunday, she said.

We’re staying at Yellow despite the new “credible” threats against British Airways and Air France flights. Here’s the latest from ABC News:

The national threat alert level won’t be raised despite renewed concerns about terrorist threats against British and French flights headed for the United States.

New intelligence indicates that British Airways flights from London to Washington and Air France flights from Paris to an unspecified U.S. city could be terrorist targets, U.S. officials said Friday.

Now, for what’s really interesting … when I went to this link, here’s a screen cap of what I saw. Notice anything? (Click to see the biggie version.)

A fresh story at CNN.com leads:

In the past 48 hours, the United States has received new intelligence that suggests a threat of possible terrorist attacks against the United States using aircraft, government officials told CNN on Friday.

As with the threats near Christmas, the intel notes BA and Air France flights in general, and BA flight 223 in particular.

Government officials said the intelligence mentioned flight paths between London and Washington-Dulles International Airport, and mentioned multiple dates, all within the next few weeks.

“We have a variety of intelligence and we’re sure we’re going to catch Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar this year,” Hilferty said. “We’ve learned lessons from Iraq and we’re getting improved intelligence from the Afghan people.”

Hilferty declined to comment on where exactly bin Laden or Mullah Omar might be hiding, but his optimism coincides with comments from U.S. officials in Washington that the military is planning a spring offensive against Taliban and al-Qaida holdouts.

If you ask Madeline Albright, it’s already a done deal.

AP: Israel Military Blows Up Attacker’s Home

Israeli forces raided the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Friday in response to a deadly Jerusalem bus bombing and demolished the house of the Palestinian policeman who blew himself up in the attack.

FOX:

KABUL, Afghanistan — Seven U.S. solders are dead and one is missing Thursday after an explosion in Afghanistan.

U.S. Central Command (search) said the explosion happened at 3 p.m. near the city of Ghazni, which is 60 miles southwest of Kabul. An Afghan interpreter was also injured in the blast, which occurred while the soldiers were working around a weapons cache.

Several wounded soldiers were evacuated to Bagram Air Base (search) for treatment.

CNN

Three teenagers who have been held with other prisoners at a U.S. military detention camp in Cuba have been released to their home country, the U.S. Defense Department said Thursday.

The teenagers were detained for more than a year at the U.S. naval complex at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Defense Department didn’t identify the detainees’ country.

They were part of hundreds rounded up when the U.S. military ousted Afghanistan’s Taliban regime for providing haven to al Qaeda, the terrorist network blamed for the September 11, 2001, attacks. Those held are suspected terrorists or supporters of the Taliban.

HA‘ARETZ: 10 dead in suicide bombing on J’lem bus; Al-Aqsa claims attack

Ten people were killed and at least 50 wounded in a suicide bombing on a bus in central Jerusalem, shortly before 9 A.M. Thursday.

The blast took place on Egged bus No. 19, on the corners of Arlozorov and Gaza streets, very close to the official residence of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who was not in the building at the time. The site of the explosion is also close to the Moment Cafe, where 13 people were killed in a March 2002 suicide bombing.

Magen David Adom said that 10 people were in serious condition, 15 had moderate wounds and the rest sustained light injuries. All of the wounded were taken to hospitals in the Jerusalem area.

subtitled: bin Laden hunting

The U.S. military is planning a spring offensive against remnants of the Taliban and al Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan, a senior Defense Department official has said.

Authorities have ordered troops, supplies and logistics into place to carry out the operation, the official said Wednesday, without detailing whether the new offensive would require more troops.

The news comes amid increased violence in Afghanistan and on a day in which the U.S. military said it thinks it will find Osama bin Laden and fugitive Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar in eastern Afghanistan.

From The Australian :

Eight Palestinians were killed Wednesday in fierce fighting with Israeli troops in Gaza City, a Palestinian hospital official said.

The fighting apparently erupted when the army launched an operation near the Jewish settlement of Netzarim, in the heart of the teeming Gaza Strip.

Palestinian militants fired anti-tank missiles and set off an explosive at the troops who fired back, the army said. Two Palestinians were killed in the incident, said Dr. Moawia Hassan, a chief Palestinian hospital official.

Later, the army entered a Gaza City neighborhood near Netzarim, and a fierce battle flared between troops and gunmen.

Six other Palestinians have been killed in that fighting, and several others were wounded, Dr. Hassan said.

The Palestinians have an interesting interpretation of the Law of Armed Conflict, and using Ambulances for cover. From the same article :

Gunmen, some of them hefting rocket launchers over their shoulders, ran past ambulance crews treating the wounded at the scene of the fighting. A group of boys took cover behind a tin shack as gunfire crackled down a street.

As two Israeli tanks rumbled slowly along another road, a rocket propelled grenade whizzed just a few yards (meters) in front of the two vehicles, leaving a streak of white smoke. The tanks swiveled their barrels and fired machine guns.

Meanwhile according to Reuters via the ABC, Israeli Army Radio is putting the Palestinian Death Toll at 13.

Israel’s Army Radio said on Wednesday that 13 Palestinians had been killed during an Israeli raid into the edge of Gaza City.

Palestinian medics said the death toll was at least eight after the deadliest clashes in the Gaza Strip for over one month.

Witnesses said there were more bodies on the ground.

From The Australian :

An explosion today near the British base in the Afghan capital killed a British soldier, the deputy commander of the peacekeeping force said, while police said a suicide attack near the city injured five foreigners.

The nearly simultaneous attacks came during a memorial ceremony for a Canadian soldier killed in a suicide attack in Kabul just the day before.

One British soldier was killed near their base, said Canadian Major General Andrew Leslie, the deputy commander of the security force, speaking at the end of the memorial service at the Canadian base.

Just east of Kabul near the German peacekeepers’ base, a suicide bomber in a taxi detonated an explosion that injured five foreigners, said Qasim Mangal, a local police chief.

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on Central Asia’s “-stans” (including Afghanistan) is courtesy of Nathan Hamm, whose creds include a stint in Uzbekistan as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer. Nathan’s regular blog is The Argus.

TOP TOPICS

• Mikheil Saakashvili won Georgia’s presidential elections on January 4th in an amazing landslide. The election was nearly free of irregularities. Saakashvili’s victory was an incredible landslide. The new President won 96% of the votes and over 80% of the voters turned out at the polls.

• After a variety of issues slowed down the proceedings, Afghanistan’s constitutional Loya Jirga finally adopted a new constitution. The Council on Foreign Relations has a great Q&A on the constitution and Radio Free Europe takes an in-depth look at the new constitution.

• Uzbekistan now has the dubious distinction of being the first former Soviet state to officially receive a failing grade in the State Department’s annual review of human rights records of recipients of aid under the Nunn-Lugar disarmament program. Under this program, the President has the right to waive the human rights requirement on national security grounds, and Bush has done so. Still, failing what used to be an annual act of going through the motions sends a strong signal to Uzbekistan.

• Economic freedom in Central Asia is worse than in any other region of the world. In the Heritage Foundation survey, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan all came in among the ten worst countries in the world.

Other Topics Today Include: US & Russia Square off in the Caucasus; India’s 20-Year Plan & Central Asia; UN Criticizes Turkmenistan’s Human Rights Record; Uzbekistan Risks Sanctions & Losing US Aid Over Human Rights; The ICG Offers Solutions to Rising Extremism; Uzbekistan’s “Princess” Wanted in New Jersey; and, Much More.

Read The Rest…

HA‘ARETZ: U.S. judge orders Hamas to pay $116M in damages for 1996 murder of two

A federal judge ordered the Palestinian militant group Hamas to pay $116 million in damages for the deaths of an American citizen and his Israeli wife near the West Bank in 1996.

The ruling Tuesday upheld a magistrate judge’s decision last month on behalf of relatives of Yaron and Efrat Ungar, who lived in Israel when they were killed.

Family members of Yaron Ungar sued in March 2000 under a 1991 law allowing relatives of American victims of overseas terrorism to seek damages in U.S. courts. Efrat Ungar was an Israeli.

It was unclear whether Hamas would honor the verdict or whether the group has the money to pay. Hamas has had no legal representation in the lawsuit.

Hamas and honor in the same sentence?

JERUSALEM POST: Lebanese official: Hizbullah is our border police

The Lebanese official told an-Nahar that in contrast to America’s view, Lebanese authorities consider Hizbullah a “national guardian”. Lebanese authorities are not ashamed of their open and strong support for Hizbullah, whose military confrontations with Israel have proved beneficial to Lebanon in the past, the official said.

The official also told the paper that the government of Lebanon sees in Hizbullah a counterbalance to Israel’s military strength.

Hizbullah’s military struggle does not harm the security of Lebanon, the official said. He added that the United States, unlike France and the United Nations, has never condemned Israel’s daily violations of Lebanon’s air, land and naval space.

A suicide bomber with explosives strapped to his chest jumped on a lightly armoured Iltis vehicle Tuesday and set off an explosion that killed a Canadian soldier and injured three of his comrades just as their tour of duty was nearing an end.

The two-vehicle patrol was about a kilometre away from Camp Julien, the main Canadian base in Kabul, when the attack happened. The three injured Canadian soldiers were all in stable condition. The blast also killed one Afghan civilian and injured at least eight others, including two who were in critical condition.

[Full story]

Winds of Change.NET Regional Briefings run on Tuesdays & Wednesdays, and sometimes Fridays too. This Regional Briefing focuses on South Asia, courtesy of Robi Sen.

Hope for Peace?

• India and Pakistan stunned much of the world early this month with their surprise peace talks about Kashmir causing The Instapundit to wonder if it is the beginning of trend? While things do look promising and we all would prefer Pakistan and India to reach a peaceful agreement Sruju seems very skeptical. If somehow India and Pakistan can create a lasting peace, even with all their differences, Pakistan and India may serve as a example for peace and prosperity in the Middle East.
  
  Other Topics Today Include: Pakistan’s Enemy Within; Rogue Scientists; More on the Indian-Israeli-U.S. alliance; Roundup of Islamic terrorism throughout SE Asia

Read The Rest…

JERUSALEM POST/AP: Hamas posts web-shots of Erez suicide bomber

Hamas has posted on its Internet site pictures of its latest suicide bomber posing with her two young children, in seeming defiance of Palestinian critics who say the Islamic militant group was wrong to send 22-year-old Reem Raiyshi on a mission that left her toddlers motherless.

The pictures, which appeared on the Hamas site over the weekend, show Raiyshi in camouflage dress holding an assault rifle in one hand while cradling her 3-year-old son, Obedia, in the other arm.

The boy is clutching what appears to be a mortar shell, and both mother and child wear Hamas headbands. Another picture shows her in a bedroom, gazing at Obedia and her 18-month-old daughter, Doha.

Two weeks ago, Raiyshi left Obedia and Doha with her husband, and blew herself up at a border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel, killing four Israelis.

AP:

A federal judge has declared unconstitutional a portion of the USA Patriot Act that bars giving expert advice or assistance to groups designated foreign terrorist organizations.

The ruling marks the first court decision to declare a part of the post-Sept. 11 anti-terrorism statute unconstitutional, said David Cole, a Georgetown University law professor who argued the case on behalf of the Humanitarian Law Project.

In a ruling handed down late Friday and made available Monday, U.S. District Judge Audrey Collins said the ban on providing “expert advice or assistance” is impermissibly vague, in violation of the First and Fifth Amendments.

The ruling marks the first court decision to declare a part of the post-September 11, 2001 anti-terrorism statute unconstitutional, said David Cole, a Georgetown University law professor who argued the case on behalf of the Humanitarian Law Project.

HURSO, Ethiopia - Soldiers from the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, “The Old Guard”, Bravo Company, established and began operating out of a forward base in rural Ethiopia this week.

The base, named “Camp United” by company soldiers, will be used as a launching ground for local missions, predominately training with the Ethiopian military, said Sgt. 1st Class Fred L. Silhol IV, platoon sergeant of Bravo’s 1st platoon.

The camp and the missions are part of the Bravo Co.’s continued involvement in the Global War on Terrorism as part of the Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa.

Camp United, located on a dusty swath of austere land encompassed by the Ethiopian Military Academy in Hurso, is a testament of determination and teamwork, Silhol said.

Before soldiers arrived the camp area was nothing but six slabs of concrete and piles of dirt, Silhol said.

“There has been a 180 degree turnaround,” Silhol said. “In 18 years in the Army, this was the sparsest place I’ve ever lived. It was a barren ground, and they turned it into a functioning forward base for the Old Guard.”

In addition to large living tents, the base now has a functioning operations center, medical center, showers, toilets, exercise and weight room, field sanitation system, and a morale and welfare tent.

“No one here is a skilled carpenter, but they all came together and figured out a way to build this base and to make it their home,” Silhol said.

A few days after establishing Camp United, company soldiers began training with the Ethiopian military. The training will include infantry fundamentals such as marksmanship, physical fitness and movement techniques.

Spc. Brandon A. Thorpe, a Bravo Co. soldier who helped establish Camp United, anticipated the training.

“I’ve looked forward to the training a lot,” Thorpe said. “It will leave a little part of me back here, and the training will continue to help their soldiers long after I’m gone.”

Thorpe said he now feels at home on Camp United and has a sense of accomplishment for the sweat and teamwork he contributed to it.

“I feel very proud of this place because I know we put this together with our hands. We made this happen,” Thorpe said.

Silhol said in addition to training with the Ethiopian military, mission objectives include strengthening long-term relations with the Ethiopian Army and establishing working relations with locals.

Pleased with the progress made towards these objectives, Silhol offered praise for the locals he has encountered.

“The people we’ve come into contact with in Ethiopia have bent over backwards,” Silhol said.

Silhol also said he is impressed with the Ethiopian Army’s strict discipline in a setting of few comforts, an environment he hopes will leave an impression on Old Guard soldiers.

“There is no Morale Welfare & Recreation in the Ethiopian military, and I think our soldiers seeing that the Ethiopian Army works just as hard without these things will have a lasting impact,” Silhol said.

Company soldiers will continue to operate CJTF-HOA missions out Camp United for the next several months.

JERUSALEM POST: ‘Computer bomb’ intercepted en route to Tel Aviv

Hidden inside a computer screen, explosives that were to be used for a suicide bomb attack in Tel Aviv were retrieved by Israeli security forces
operating along the Green Line, near the Israeli settlement of Elkana.

Acting on intelligence information received from a Palestinian terrorist captured last week in Nablus, Israeli security forces operating near Kafr A-Zawiya on Sunday retrieved the bag rigged with explosives, hidden inside a computer screen.

Ahmed Ibrahim Ashker,18, a Tanzim fugitive arrested by security forces on January 21, was to have perpetrated the attack which was planned by head of the Fatah Tanzim in the Balata refugee camp, near Nablus, Hisham Abu Hamdan, 22.

After Dark: Palestinian Edition?

Many readers have supported us with donations, which we appreciate. But the best way to support The Post is with traffic. So with the final push in New Hampshire to get out the vote, we ask that you help us “Get Out The Link.”

Support Command Post this Monday by sending the www.command-post.org URL to everyone in your contact list who you think might enjoy the site. We’re not picky: we just want to introduce people to The Command Post, and think the day before the primary is a great day to do so.

So “Get Out The Link” on Monday the 25th, and thanks for reading The Post!

HA‘ARETZ: Hamas proposes 10-year truce for Israeli pullback

A top official of the main Palestinian militant group, Hamas, has said it could declare a 10-year truce with Israel if Israel withdrew from territory occupied since 1967.

Abdel Aziz Rantisi told Reuters late on Sunday that Hamas had come to the conclusion that it was “difficult to liberate all our land at this stage, so we accept a phased liberation”.

“We accept a state in the West Bank, including Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip. We propose a 10-year truce in return for [Israeli] withdrawal and the establishment of a state,” he said in a telephone interview from hiding in the Gaza Strip.

CNN reports that a woman made it through airport security at New York’s LaGuardia airport with stun gun and a knife in her purse.

After a layover in Detroit, on her way to Denver, she realized what she had in her purse and alerted a flight attendant. The plane was met at the gate by security personnel and the woman was taken into custody for questioning. She was released without charges.

From California Yankee.

JERUSALEM POST: Jordan: Arab states should condemn suicide attacks

Jordan’s Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher said Sunday that Arab states need to explain their peace proposals to Israelis and take a strong stand against suicide bombings that have claimed hundreds of Israeli lives in the past three years of violence.

“We have not publically, clearly, unequivocally taken a stand against suicide bombs,” Muasher declared at a meeting of business and government leaders in the Swiss Alps. “We have not told the average Israeli citizen that suicide bombs are wrong from a moral and political point of view.”

From The Australian :

Two Buddhist monks and a policeman have been killed in Muslim-majority southern Thailand in attacks believed to be linked to separatist unrest in the region, the government and police said today.

”Two monks were killed while they were walking to receive alms and one monk was seriously hurt at about 6am” this morning (local time) in separate but simultaneous attacks, police in Yala said.

“A policeman was also shot dead late Friday in Ying-or district in neighbouring Narathiwat province.”

Thailand’s southern region was rocked by a series of attacks on government targets earlier this month which left six people dead.

I’ve spent some time in Thailand, and if there’s anything guaranteed to provoke a “disproportionate response”, it’s the slaughter of Buddhist Monks.

HA‘ARETZ: Two Palestinians shot dead near Gaza Strip security fence

Two Palestinians were shot dead by Israel Defense Forces soldiers Saturday near the security fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip, the IDF and Palestinian medics said.

Palestinian sources later said the two were members of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, which is linked to Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat’s Fatah movement.

They identified the men as Ashraf al-Imbayed, 25, who was wearing a military-style jacket, and a distant relative from the same family clan, Samir al-Imbayed, 23.

An IDF spokesman said the two were shot as they approached the soldiers who suspected the men intended to set off an explosive charge.

The soldiers found binoculars and mobile phones on the bodies, the spokesman said.

The Al-Aqsa Birdwatchers Brigade was unavailable for comment.

HA‘ARETZ: Lebanon rejects U.S. demand to rein in Hezbollah

ebanon’s government on Friday said a Hezbollah rocket attack that killed an Israeli soldier along the border was an act of self-defense, brushing aside demands by the U.S. ambassador that the government clamp down on the guerrillas.

After brushing aside the demands, Lebanese President Emile Lahoud offered to repeat his statement at the same time as Bashar Assad would drink a glass of water.

CNN: U.S. freezes Saudi charity assets

The United States and Saudi Arabia are asking for international help to block the assets of a Muslim charity accused of backing terrorist groups, including al Qaeda.

Four branches of the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation — in Indonesia, Kenya, Tanzania and Pakistan — were added to a U.S. list of groups and individuals suspected of bankrolling terrorism, effectively freezing any assets they hold in the U.S.

Last year, Saudi Arabia ordered Al-Haramain to close all of its overseas branches, but the Treasury Department said the branches in the four countries affected by Thursday’s announcement continued to operate.

JERUSALEM POST: US: Lebanon must cease support for Hizbullah

US Ambassador to Lebanon Vincent Buttle announced that the US blames the Hizbullah for escalating violence along Israel’s northern border, reported ynet Thursday.

Buttle said he informed Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri that Secretary of State Powell considers Hizbullah’s continued provocations harmful, and that the Lebanese government should immediately cease supporting the organization.

JERUSALEM POST: British MP says she understands suicide bombers

A British Parliament member stirred controversy Thursday night after saying in an interview to Sky News that she understands why some people became suicide bombers.

“It is out of desperation and I guess if I was in their situation, with my children and grandchildren, and I saw no hope for the future at all, I might just think about it myself,” liberal democrat Jenny Tonge said.

What kind of desperation is it, you ask. Well, let’s take the most recent example of a Palestinian suicide bomber, shall we? The mother of two who blew herself up at Erez Crossing…

According to CAMERA:

Israel’s largest circulation daily, Yediot Ahronot, reported on January 18th that Raiyshi’s husband, a member of the terrorist Hamas (Islamic Resistance Movement), forced her to stage the attack to redeem “family honor,” and that her lover, also of Hamas, supplied the bomb.

So, Jenny Tong, did the Israelis force her to cheat on her husband, causing him to force her to go out and blow herself up?

UPDATE:
She’s been removed from her position as spokeswoman for children’s affairs.

JERUSALEM POST: ZAKA wants to send blown up bus to the Hague

Amidst Israel’s preparations for the hearing on the security fence in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, ZAKA (Disaster Victims Identification Organization) has suggested sending a display of a wrecked, charred bus to drum up support for Israel’s argument that the fence is necessary for self-defense.

The idea has been repeatedly rejected by the Foreign Ministry, for fear of harming Israel’s international image and tourism. However, the Ministry has announced that it is not opposed to the idea.

JERUSALEM POST: New bus security system approved

Transportation Minister Avigdor Lieberman authorized the use of a new security system for public buses on Thursday, which can detect suicide bombers and prevent them from boarding the vehicles.

The system, jointly developed by the Transportation Ministry and the Israel Military Industries, consists of a barrier for the bus’ front door, explosives detectors and a back door to be used only for exiting the bus.

The driver will have control over the front door barrier and a passenger will only be allowed to board the bus after the driver presses a button.

Explosives and metal detectors will assist the driver in inspecting the passengers before they board the bus.

From Jane’s:

US secretary of defence Donald Rumsfeld is considering plans to expand the global war on terrorism with multi-pronged attacks against suspected militant bases in countries such as Lebanon and Somalia…

Sending US troops into lawless Somalia would not be new, nor is it likely to cause serious diplomatic waves. Covert US forces have periodically infiltrated the country over the past two years in order to conduct surveillance and even snatch [Al Qaeda] suspects…

However, sending US special forces into Lebanon - and in particular an area like the Bekaa Valley (which is virtually Syrian territory) and where the bulk of Damascus’ military forces in Lebanon are deployed - would be an entirely different matter. Deployment of US forces in the area would almost certainly involve a confrontation with Syrian troops.

That may well prove to be the objective, since the Bush administration is currently stepping up pressure on the Damascus regime in a bid to force it to cut off all support for radical Palestinian groups which have been targeting Israel during the three-year-old intifada. Washington also wants Syria to abandon its weapons of mass destruction and to withdraw all its forces from Lebanon, a virtual satellite since Syria moved in with tacit US support in 1990 as part of a strategy to end Lebanon’s civil war.

The US administration has long considered Damascus as a prime candidate for ‘regime-change’ (along with Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and possibly even Saudi Arabia). Syria, once a powerhouse of Arab radicalism that could not be ignored, has been seriously weakened, both militarily and politically. Washington may feel that the time is coming to oust Bashir Al-Assad and the ruling generals. Targeting Syria via Lebanon, the only concrete political influence Damascus has to show following decades of radical diplomacy, could prove to be a means to that end…

Moreover, since the 11 September 2001 attacks, Washington has been keen to prove that Hizbullah has a global reach, and is thus a legitimate target for its war on terrorism. Thus far, US intelligence services have been unable to produce compelling evidence supporting this claim. So instead of launching military strikes, the Bush administration has sought to weaken Hizbullah by putting pressure on Iran, the movement’s ideological mentor, and on Syria, which has used the Shia militants as what amounts to a proxy force against Israel over the last 20 years…

Washington’s own focus on Hizbullah has intensified amid claims that the movement has links with Al-Qaeda (even though Hizbullah is staunchly Shia, while Al-Qaeda’s religious ideology stems from the puritanical Wahhabite sect of Sunni Islam). Whether there is any actual operational alliance between Hizbullah and Al-Qaeda remains highly questionable.

[via Noah Shachtman]

Army News Service

lWith her husband and five children in the military, Terri Lamb said she doesn’t mind when friends mention the movie “Saving Private Ryan” or compare her family to the Sullivan brothers. “To me, it’s a real honor to compare them to a family that sacrificed so much,” Terri said of the five Sullivan brothers who all perished aboard the USS Juneau when a torpedo sank the ship during World War II. “I look at it as if they are true patriots.”

Terri admitted that when her husband Sgt. Maj. Mike Lamb was deployed to Bosnia last year and she heard that her son Spc. Jason Lamb was about to deploy to Afghanistan, she was initially concerned. “That made me just a little bit nervous,” Terri said.

Now her son Spc. Richard Lamb is scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan in the spring with a 25th Infantry Division unit out of Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii. Her oldest son Spc. Scott Lamb is now at Fort Polk, La., but he is scheduled to deploy with the 25th Inf. Div. to Afghanistan at the end of the summer.

Her son-in-law, Spc. Jerry Diaz, is already in Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division from Fort Drum, N.Y. And her daughter, Airman Renee Lamb, could possibly deploy to Afghanistan in April, Terri said. Spc. Timothy Lamb with the Indiana National Guard is the only son not yet scheduled to deploy.

But Terri is taking the deployment news in relative stride these days. “I’m very proud of them,” Terri said. “It’s amazing that they’ve all gone this route. They’re doing it for very unselfish reasons.” One of the amazing aspects, Terri said, is that neither she nor her husband encouraged their children to join the military.

“I was very much reluctant to encourage them to join the Army,” said Sgt. Maj. Mike Lamb who serves with the Army Training and Doctrine Command headquarters at Fort Monroe, Va. He’s the top enlisted Soldier in the office of the TRADOC Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Training. “Neither my wife nor I pushed them in any direction. It was their decision,” he said. “I didn’t want them to feel any pressure.”

“I encouraged them to go to college,” said Terri, who works as an academic adviser for St. Leo University. Despite that, four of her children enlisted in 2001, even before Sept. 11, within a period of less than six months. And both parents said they are extremely proud of the decisions their sons and daughter made.

During holiday visits, Terri said it’s easy to gather the family in one room. “We just yell `specialist’ and everybody comes running,” she said.

In Terri’s job as a college counselor, she works at the post Education Center at Fort Eustis, Va., where she recommends course direction for Soldiers. She said a number of her clients recently returned injured from Iraq or Afghanistan, and she feels a special tie to all of them. “Any Soldier who comes to my door is part of my family too,” Terri said.

via Sgt. Hook

BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Jan. 21, 2004 – The more than 200 Republic of Korea soldiers serving at the air base here welcomed their president’s top military adviser for a Jan. 19 visit.

Retired Lt. Gen. Hee-Sang Kim, accompanied by Maj. Gen. Ki Seok Song, operations director for the South Korean joint chiefs of staff, stopped in Bagram as part of a tour to deliver words of support from the South Korean people to their soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Iraq in support of the global war on terrorism.

Bagram is home to three deployed South Korean units: the “Dong-yi” medical group, the “Da-san” engineer group and a small civil affairs unit that is part of the Parwan Provincial Reconstruction Team.

In the evening, all of the South Korean soldiers here gathered in the Enduring Faith chapel to hear a message from Kim about the importance of their work in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan’s situation today is the same as that in Korea 50 years ago after the Korean War, Kim said. He told the soldiers the work they’re doing gives hope to the Afghan people and helps them develop their country, and he expressed South Korea’s pride in their performance.

Since arriving in Afghanistan in late August, the current engineer group has completed 46 construction projects, the biggest of which was the expansion of the Bagram airfield’s taxiway and runway.

The medical group, the fourth Korean unit of its kind to be deployed to Afghanistan, has treated more than 16,000 Afghan patients since arriving here in late August. In total, the four medical units have treated more than 84,000 Afghans over the last two years.

For medical group interpreter Sgt. Andrew Kyungyoon Kim, and many others, it was a surprise to see such a high-ranking government official come all the way to Afghanistan to visit a relatively small group of soldiers.

The sergeant said one of the most impressive aspects of the entire visit was a simple gesture made by the distinguished visitor.

“We had spent a lot of time setting up a special room for him and his entourage, but he said he wanted to sleep in the tents with the soldiers,” said the translator. “It showed me that they wanted to feel what we are feeling out here.”

Welcome! Our goal is to give you one power-packed briefing of insights, news and trends from the global War on Terror that leaves you stimulated, informed, and occasionally amused every Monday & Thursday. Today’s “Winds of War” is brought to you by Dan Darling of Regnum Crucis.

TOP TOPICS

• Did Iran assist al-Qaeda in the 9/11 attacks? According to a witness in the case of accused Hamburg cell member Abdelghani Mzoudi as reported in Der Spiegel, that indeed appears to be the case. I’m still looking for a better translation, but in the meantime you can read my own translation via Alta Vista. Rantburg poster True German Ally (who lives up every bit to his screen name) has his own translation - it’s very chilling and a lot better than my own. Still, take a deep breath and remember the “7-day rule” for news like this.

• In recent weeks, Pakistan has launched series of crackdowns on both al-Qaeda as well as its domestic affiliates. I have a general round-up of the crackdown here as well as some thoughts as to just who the captured al-Qaeda leader in Karachi might be.

Other Topics Today Include: Iraq Briefing; Iran Reports; al-Qaeda training camps in Saudi Arabia; Russians destroy major armed formations in Chechnya; Basayev rants and raves; Victory Day bombing mastermind identified; FIS wants to negotiate; NPA forms an alliance with MILF; Saif al-Adel launches online terrorist manual; Mullah Krekar ordering suicide bombings over the Internet; al-Qaeda’s underground operation in Spain; Turkish al-Qaeda suspects confess training details; and Russia sends an army for beer.

Read The Rest…

More information on Iranian defector Hamid Reza Zakeri, who claims the Iranian connection to Sept. 11 posted below:

• Reader Mike forwarded this link to a Geo-Strategy Direct brief posted on 2003-03-03 at Middle East Information Center. In notes, in part: “Al-Qaida had extensive contacts with Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, as well as with an elite military unit which helped the terrorists train and plot attacks against Americans, according to a former intelligence officer who recently fled Iran.” (Note that this post is nearly a year old.)

• Insight posted a piece titled Defector Alleges Iranian Involvement in Sept. 11 Attacks on June 10, 2003.

• Perhaps even more intersting is this post by Iranian blogger Iranian Girl, who wrote about Zakeri on Aug. 27, 2003, noting: “I don’t know if you have heard about Hamid Reza Zakeri or not, the one who showed truth to the world about some important secrets like relationship of Iran’s government with Al Qaeda, everything about Iran’s program of mass distraction [sic].” She also notes that Zakeri had a blog, but the links are now broken.

This Chicago Tribune article was just forwarded to Command Post by Blog Iran: Surprise Iranian Witness Delays Verdict in Sept. 11 Trial in Germany.

On what had been the eve of his widely expected acquittal, the trial of the second person charged by German authorities as an accomplice of the Sept. 11 hijackers was thrown into turmoil Wednesday after prosecutors disclosed the existence of a surprise witness purporting to link Iran to the hijackings.

The mysterious witness, who goes by the name Hamid Reza Zakeri and claims to have been a longtime member of the Iranian intelligence service, is said to have told German investigators that the Sept. 11 plot represented what one termed a “joint venture” between the terrorist group al-Qaida and the Iranian government.

Sources familiar with the witness’ story, greeted with pronounced skepticism by some German intelligence officials, say he also implicates the defendant, a 31-year-old former Moroccan student named Abdelghani Mzoudi, as a knowledgeable participant in the hijacking plot.

Read the rest.

The military tribunal process for terror detainees won’t be such a closed process, according to the Armed Forces Press Service:

WASHINGTON, Jan. 21, 2004 – Human rights organizations will closely monitor every step they take. Judicial activists will analyze everything that takes place in the courtroom. And both U.S. and international news organizations will report the day-to-day proceedings they will be a part of.

In short, the eyes of the world will be upon two retired generals working with the military commissions formed to try detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The two generals are Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Hemingway and retired Army Maj. Gen. John D. Altenburg Jr., and they will steer the tribunals under international scrutiny.

More:

The president has determined that six detainees are eligible to be tried by military commissions, though the actual decision whether to charge someone will be made by Altenburg. Hemingway declined to estimate when trials might begin, and he described his and Altenburg’s appointments as the next logical step in the military commissions process.

Altenburg said the setting for the trials will be similar to any courtroom in the United States. There will be a place for the witness to testify; an area for the commission members — who in the civilian system would be called jurors — including the presiding officer; a table for the accused and the defense lawyer; and one for the prosecution. A court reporter also will be present.

He said the trials would take place in a dignified setting appropriate to the process of justice.

Apparently, the Bush Administration believes the more transparency, the better. Given the nature of the crimes and attempted crimes involved, the eventual trials of the likes of Khalid Sheik Mohammed look to be as riveting as they will be emotional.

(Cross-posted at Late Final.)

Al-Qaida has foiled an attack by Saudi security forces on its members in Riyadh, Islamist websites have reported.

Two websites carried a statement on Tuesday attributed to the “Al-Qaida Organisation in the Arabian Peninsula” outlining how the attack was thwarted.

The group “was tipped off by elements within the Saudi security service about an impending attack against the mujahidin, who were in a public place in Al-Rabwa neighbourhood of Riyadh”, the statement said.

[al Jazeera alert]

BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Jan. 20, 2004 – On Jan. 6, a series of explosions ripped through the east side of the city of Kandahar, and 11 days later the effects of those explosions were still evident on the children in the 452nd Combat Support Hospital here.

As many as 14 people were killed and dozens were wounded in the double bomb blast in the "spiritual home of the Taliban," just one day after Afghanistan adopted a new constitution, according to a statement from the office of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.

The victims were mainly children from the nearby Abdul Ahad Karzai primary school, named after the president's father, who was assassinated by Taliban agents five years ago. Many were transferred to medical facilities at Kandahar Air Field, while others were evacuated to Bagram.

"We received 11 victims total – all of them being children," said Capt. Mary Jo Literski, a nurse with the 452nd CSH out of Milwaukee, Wis. "For our facility, that's a large number of casualties all at once."

Literski said most of the injuries were shrapnel wounds from the explosion, many of them requiring surgery. "The shrapnel only makes a small puncture mark when it goes in, but then it does a lot of damage on the inside. So most of them needed abdominal surgery to get the shrapnel out and repair the damage to the internal organs," Literski said.

She said that without the medical care provided at the U.S. hospital, many of the children would have died.

"(In Afghanistan) there is a medical system, but it's very limited," Literski said. "Their surgical capabilities are almost not available."

Although the hospital gets casualties from Kandahar often, the large number of children has prompted visits from media and service members concerned with the children's welfare, Literski said.

She said several service members have come to the hospital to visit the children and bring them gifts.

"The kids in general are very gracious of the care that we give them," Literski said. "Initially, they seem frightened because they don't understand the language and they don't understand what we're doing. After sometimes hours and sometimes days, you can see the difference in the children in how they react to you – how they trust you," she said.

The children are not the only ones who benefit from the services provided by coalition forces, since the health care providers get a lot of satisfaction from helping patch up the victims of a country in turmoil, Literski said.

Karzai condemned the attack as an "act of cruelty and barbarism," and said it would only strengthen his resolve to fight terrorism in Afghanistan.

Posted by Chuck Simmins at 09:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

via The Hill, whose headline is a bit strong for what the article states.

House Administration Chairman Robert Ney (R-Ohio) will ask Attorney General John Ashcroft today to investigate a charity event for ties to an Iranian terrorist group backed by Saddam Hussein.

The event, to be held Saturday at the Washington Convention Center, is billed as a “night of solidarity with Iran.” The organizers, led by the Iranian-American Society of Northern Virginia, hope to raise $140,000 to help survivors of the earthquake in Bam on Dec. 26, which killed 30,000 people.

But a number of sponsoring groups have strong ties to the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), and the fundraiser may violate the prohibition on providing material support for global terrorism.

The Israelis responded to the Hizbollah trap-attack on the bomb-clearing bulldozer...

JERUSALEM POST: IAF jets bomb Hizbullah bases in southern Lebanon

The IAF hit Hizbullah training bases in Lebanon on Tuesday evening. The two separate strikes were in response to the anti-tank missile attack on an IDF bulldozer along the Lebanese border on Monday in which Sgt.-Maj. Jan Rotzanski, 21, of Herzliya, was killed and another soldier seriously wounded.

All the planes returned safely.

According to Channel 2, six Lebanese were reported missing following the attacks, although reports from Lebanon said there were no casualties.

UNFIL reported that the bulldozer had gone into Lebanese territory, but did nothing about the fact that the Lebanese had placed bombs in Israeli territory in the first place.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- In Oruzgan province this weekend, coalition forces did engage five armed adult males who were fleeing from a known terrorist compound. Currently, we have no indications that civilians were killed in that incident. We reiterate our adherence to the rules of land warfare and to stringent rules of engagement.

Saturday evening coalition forces received intelligence that in a compound in Oruzgan province, in the Cahar Cineh Valley, there was a gathering of mid-level Taliban leadership.

Coalition Special Operations Forces and Afghan Militia Forces were sent to capture or kill the Taliban leaders at that compound. At approximately 8:00 p.m. on Saturday we observed 5 armed men leave the compound and move toward the coalition forces which have cordoned off the original compound. The commander on the ground verified that these individuals were indeed armed and, at night, moving toward a known coalition military unit.

At approximately 8:12 p.m. on Saturday an aircraft engaged those 5 individuals in a streambed.

Our forces moved toward the engagement site, but a large massing of armed personnel then came out of nearby compounds and gathered near the streambed. In order to avoid a larger engagement in the area of the compounds that might incur civilian casualties our forces halted and observed the activity from secure positions. Those people near the streambed recovered the bodies from the streambed.

The next day, coalition forces searched a number of compounds and the streambed without fi